we just call this one 'Family Game Night'
by lilfruitloop
Summary: vlad is a lonely old man. maybe he just needs somebody to talk to. maybe that somebody is his fourteen-year-old half-ghost arch-enemy. maybe we should all consider what mistakes in his life led him to this sad state, geez.


Danny wasn't sure how it happened the first time.

At some point, he started pitying Vlad. He was always trying so hard, and if his morals were a bit flawed-well, he was loopy, there was no denying that. He was also really sad.

Every now and then, if you watched him carefully, you'd catch that uncertain pause before his ego stepped in to fill in the blanks. It didn't matter who Vlad was talking to, whether it was Danny's parents, or Jazz, or Danny himself. For just a second, Vlad would be lost and alone. He always looked sad, in those moments, and one time, much later on, Danny saw his hands tremble before Vlad caught himself up.

It was really difficult to notice things like that about your arch-nemesis. For one thing, banter became an exercise in guilt and self-control. Vlad even started noticing, as Danny was forced to bite his tongue and mutter, "Nothing..." instead of the sharp retort he'd planned. It looked very uncool.

Of course, it was ages before Danny did anything about it. And when he did, it was an accident.

It was another family vacation to "Uncle Vlad's," and everyone aside from Danny's parents was dreading it. Jazz kept complaining about an interview she was now going to have to do over the phone, Vlad had greeted them at his most sarcastic, and Danny couldn't even look forward to a weekend free of ghost-hunting because by now it was tradition for Vlad to hatch some sort of plot to keep him busy.

The dinner was the worst part. Jazz was brooding, and Danny was trying to keep an eye out for trouble. Instead, he kept noticing Vlad, and his little sighs, and his averted eyes, and those little lost moments that just-kept-happening- they weren't even halfway through dinner when Danny cleared his throat.

"Geez, can you guys cool it? Get a room or something, I'm gonna lose my dinner before I even eat it." Everyone looked up at him, and he tried not to blush.

His mother, across the table, put down the fork she'd been using to feed his father meatloaf quite primly. "Sorry, Danny," she said brightly, completely unapologetic. "Did you want to go eat in the television room?"

Danny was sorely tempted, actually, but he'd only said it for Vlad's benefit. "No, I'm fine, just lay off, will you?" He was getting really good at the whole sulky-teenager thing, and his mom let it go, and they all went back to eating, though with a bit more tension.

Danny kept glancing at Vlad when no one else was looking, but he still had the same lost expression, as if he hadn't even noticed Danny's parents or the thing Danny had done for him.

As soon as they had finished eating, Vlad excused himself, claiming he had a headache. Usually, this was code for "I need to finish setting up my latest plot to kill Danny Phantom," but Vlad didn't have that maniacal look in his eye tonight. He just had the lonely look, and a lot of wine.

Jack tried half-heartedly to get Vlad to join their "Family Game Night," but as usual, Vlad refused. They all tried to play a few rounds of Yahtzee without him, but nobody's heart was really in it. Even Jack's aggressive enthusiasm was a bit lacking. Jazz quickly gave up, and it only took half a round of sulking and sighing before Maddie suggested that Danny go and check out the tv room after all. Sometimes Danny felt a bit guilty about playing the "rebellious teenager" card.

...but only when he wasn't trying to survive a night at the home of his arch-enemy. He started in the direction of the television room, but as soon as he rounded a corner, he quickly phased through the floor to Vlad's lab. Which was, surprisingly, empty. Maybe he really wasn't planning anything this time? Danny took a quick tour through the room, just in case Vlad had left any traps, but there wasn't a single thing. Everything looked a little bit dusty, actually, when he thought about it.

This was odd. It was all a bit odd. It was so unlikely, so unlike Vlad to let an opportunity like this pass by. But at this point, there were only two options: Vlad had upped his game and done something truly sneaky, or he had just...given up. Given his face at dinner, Danny could almost believe the latter. Almost. Forget about the pity, he told himself. It wouldn't be the first time Vlad had used emotional manipulation to get his way.

His resolve strengthened, Danny went to find the man himself. Vlad was in his own room, pacing. He hardly looked up when Danny entered.

"...Vlad?" Danny asked carefully. This was about the time when the trap would spring, if this was a normal weekend.

Vlad looked up, his brow furrowed in confusion and something like-hurt? He was full of that wary uncertainty, and then it was gone in a flash. He was again his usual self, suave if not a bit irritated.

"Daniel," he said, through gritted teeth, "Shouldn't you be spending time with your family?"

Danny checked the hallway, making sure none of his family had thought to check on Vlad yet. It would be just like Jazz to get involved at the worst possible time.

"Nah, we got bored of game night." He gave a small shrug, sidling a little further into the room. "And uh, my parents sent me to check on you." The excuse came out before he could stop it. He kept thinking of Vlad's sad little look, and it didn't feel right to tell Vlad that he'd been suspicious of him until that very moment.

"Really?" Vlad narrowed his eyes, but he softened up around the edges. He did seem a bit incredulous, though. "I didn't think..."

Danny turned and began browsing some books on a nearby shelf: anything to keep his eyes and his thoughts diverted. "How are you feeling?" he asked hopefully, intending to distract Vlad before he got caught in the lie. "You seemed kind of off at dinner." The words were out before he could stop them, and he recoiled from the shelf in a panic. He wasn't supposed to _notice_ things like that! "I mean, that's-what my mom told me to ask you."

Vlad softened up a lot at that, and Danny immediately felt guilty for the lie. The second, in at least as many minutes. And he was supposed to be the honest one...

With the grace of practice, Vlad pulled out the chair from his desk and took a seat. He was quiet for a moment, and Danny supposed he was considering an answer, but suddenly his composure fell all apart. Vlad began fidgeting with his tie, completely lacking his usual self-confidence, totally lost again. "You can tell her, er- um-"

"What's wrong with you?" Danny cut him off, horrified.

Vlad cringed like he'd been hit.

More guilt was welling up inside Danny, and it wasn't right; none of this was right. He was only so horrified because he had no idea who this Vlad was-certainly not his nemesis, surely not the same Vlad who so often plotted to hurt him? Okay, he was also quite horrified because he couldn't decide how he was feeling. There was a hot feeling in his chest that was usually pushing him to do something Right and Good-a sense of justice, a sense of fixing what was wrong, a warm happiness that came from protecting people. But there were other, smaller feelings, the pity from earlier making an appearance for one, and it was all so confusing. Things had been much easier when Vlad was just trying to hurt him; it had been easy to disdain him, to hate him.

"...Sorry." Danny didn't look at him as he apologized. He was forcing himself to unclench his fists and relax his shoulders. It didn't matter how Vlad had changed; Danny knew by now that things went very poorly when he let his temper get the best of him. "I meant to say why are you acting so...different?"

When he made himself look up, Vlad was looking at him with big round eyes that disturbed Danny greatly, at least for the feelings they were stirring up. He was uncomfortably aware then that Vlad was not just an enemy, but a friend of his parents', a friend of the family. It wasn't all bad blood. Mostly, but not all.

"It's been a long time since I've had any friends." Vlad spoke so quietly, Danny was sure he'd never told anybody else this. "Sometimes I forget how to. Even when I'm-when I was just pretending. I forget sometimes." He finally looked away, turned in on himself so that Danny was afraid he'd fall off the chair.

Danny felt an absurd urge to laugh. So he was just lonely? He was a lonely old man-the same thing Danny had teased him about from the first time they'd met? The irony was awful, and a little heartbreaking. Danny had to dig very, very deep to muster up a casual manner.

"Is that all? You really are a fruitloop." He shook his head dismissively- he was totally overplaying it, but Vlad was looking at him so desperately that he didn't think he'd notice. "All you have to do is ask! And try. You missed a really great game night, you know."

Vlad was looking at him with such utter confusion that it was almost endearing. Danny felt that righteous protective warmth again, huge and hot in his chest. He reached over and ruffled Vlad's hair. It felt weird, but also right.

"We're a family of _ghost hunters_, Vlad. You're not gonna scare us away if you act weird or something. I think you're kind of stuck with us, actually." Danny forced a laugh, awkward and discomforted.

"Thank you, Daniel." Vlad was looking at the floor, but his voice sounded a little stronger. It had just a touch of his normal swagger back in it.

"Don't mention it." Danny pulled back his hand, wondering how a part of his own body could feel so entirely disconnected from the rest of him. "And next time you need somebody to talk to..." He shrugged, before slouching down and putting his hands in his pockets, remembering all of a sudden that he was a sulky teenager. "I'll be around, I guess." He squinted at Vlad, making sure he knew how lucky he was to get such an offer.

But Vlad just smiled. "Thank you, Daniel," he said again. "I'll keep that in mind."

And the nice thing was that, after that, they really did talk to each other. Not all the time or anything, but now and then Vlad would call him away from Family Game Night to show him a part of the mansion he hadn't seen yet, and to check in on how he was doing. Once or twice Danny even called Vlad for advice-when he had to rent a suit for his semi-formal, he couldn't think of anybody better to ask. And slowly but surely, it seemed like Vlad was getting a little less loopy.


End file.
